Commercial vehicle registrations: +4.1% five months into 2018; +3.3% in May

Brussels, 26 June 2018 – In May 2018, registrations of new commercial vehicles in the EU grew modestly (+3.3%) compared to April’s strong performance, with 212,122 units registered in total.

Total new commercial vehicles

In May 2018, registrations of new commercial vehicles in the EU grew modestly (+3.3%) compared to April’s strong performance, with 212,122 units registered in total. Demand was sustained by the van and bus segments, while truck sales declined in May. The Spanish and French markets posted growth (+8.4% and +2.1%, respectively), but the other major European markets remained more or less stable compared to May 2017.

So far in 2018, EU demand for new commercial vehicles increased by 4.1%, with positive figures for four out of five months. New registrations totalled more than one million units over this period. Spain recorded double-digit growth figures (+11.4%), followed by France (+5.5%), Italy (+3.0%) and Germany (+2.9%). By contrast, demand for commercial vehicles decreased by 2.6% in the United Kingdom compared to last year.

New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 tonnes

In May 2018, light commercial vehicle registrations grew by 4.3%. All major EU markets performed well, except for Italy (-2.0%). Spain (+9.3%), Germany (+2.4%), the United Kingdom (+2.4%) and France (+1.8%) all saw demand for vans increase last month. Overall, 176,545 new vans were registered across the European Union.

During the first five months of 2018, demand for new vans increased by 4.3%, totalling 857,431 vehicles. Growth was posted in Spain (+11.7%), France (+5.3%), Germany (+4.8%) and Italy (+1.1%). Demand for vans in the United Kingdom, however, fell by 1.4% so far this year.

New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of 16 tonnes and over

May registrations of new heavy commercial vehicles contracted by 2.4% to 26,212 units. Results were diverse among the major EU markets, with heavy-truck sales increasing in Italy (+13.8%), Spain (+4.7%) and France (+4.2%) but declining in the UK (-22.3%) and Germany (-4.7%).

Five months into the year, EU demand remained positive (+4.2%) – 132,188 new heavy trucks were registered so far. The Italian (+17.9%), French (+9.8%) and Spanish (+9.2%) markets posted the strongest gains over this period, but demand fell in the United Kingdom (-10.2%) and Germany (-1.3%).

New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5 tonnes

In May 2018, the truck segment posted a slight decline (-2.2%). Overall, 32,170 new trucks were registered in the European Union last month. Even though demand declined in the UK (-14.4%) and Germany (-6.5%), it did grow in the other major EU markets and Italy (+15.0%) in particular.

From January to May 2018, EU demand for new trucks went up by 3.5%, counting 160,793 units. Italy (+15.0%), Spain (+9.2%) and France (+7.9%) all performed very well, although registrations did fall in the United Kingdom (-8.6%) and Germany (-1.6%) so far this year.

New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5 tonnes

May 2018 results show that demand for buses and coaches grew again last month (+2.9%) after declining in April. In total, 3,407 new buses and coaches were registered, but results were diverse among the five major EU markets. Registrations fell in Germany (-28.0%), the United Kingdom (‐10.3%) and Spain (-6.9%), while Italy (+29.2%) and France (+19.3%) posted very positive results.

During the first five months of 2018, EU bus and coach registrations were slightly lower than one year ago (-0.5%), counting 16,759 new vehicles. Demand increased in Italy (+16.0%) and Spain (+8.1%), but registrations dropped in the UK (-15.7%), Germany (-6.6%) and France (-5.2%).